7 Golden Rules: building a sandcastle

From the right equipment to finding a perfect patch — the ideal sand creation is just seven steps away

Matthew Bennett

Sunday June 09 2013, 1.01am, The Sunday Times

Matthew Bennett

Sunday June 09 2013, 1.01am, The Sunday Times

Professor Matthew Bennett, of Bournemouth University, is a quaternary sedimentologist and geomorphologist. He’s also renowned as a world expert on building sandcastles. We asked him for his top tips.

1 Location, location, location The sand on some beaches is far better for building the perfect castle than it is on others. In 2004, I scientifically compared — yes, scientifically, to my shame — sand from the 10 most popular beaches in the country to find out which was best for building castles. Torquay came out on top, thanks to its delightful red sand, closely followed by Bridlington, with Bournemouth, Great Yarmouth and Tenby tied in third. Blackpool took sixth spot, followed by Eastbourne, Herne Bay and Newquay. Rhyl came 10th.